Blog Developed by: FuzeHub
In Manufacturing for Growth: Strategies for Driving Growth and Employment, experts from the World Economic Forum and Deloitte Touche Tohmastu Limited (DTTL) explain why “today’s global competitiveness environment requires a team effort to succeed”.
Leaders in business, government, and academia must make “strategic choices” about how to develop and sustain advanced manufacturing, the report’s executive summary maintains. By sharing knowledge, building capabilities, and making decisions together, public and private partners can choose wisely and strengthen national economies.
As examples, the Manufacturing for Growth report cites the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Institute. Yet teamwork between business, government, and higher education can also promote manufacturing innovation at state, regional, and local levels, as New York State is proving.
Public-Private Partnerships
New York’s Regional Economic Councils empower local leaders from the private and public sectors to grow their own economies. By helping connect manufacturers to the right resources, FuzeHub supports the work of the Regional Councils and enables the Empire State to pursue the types of policies that the World Economic Forum and DTTL recommend.
For example, the Manufacturing for Growth study recommends clean and sustainable sources of energy, support for technical training and top-notch talent, and commercialization of technologies for advanced manufacturing. In all three areas, FuzeHub is building connections between business, government, and academia while providing expertise that can inform strategic choices.
Clean and Sustainable Energy
To help power manufacturing, FuzeHub connects companies with resources such as New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NYMEP) Centers, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York Battery and Energy Storage Consortium (NY-BEST), the Center for Future Energy Systems (CFES) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I).
All of these resources offer expert advice about energy-efficient technologies and construction. In addition to research and consulting services, many of these organizations, including NYSERDA, the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), and the Empire State Development (ESD) Environmental Investment Program (EIP), provide energy-related funding both for new buildings and for improvements to existing structures.
These organizations also help New York manufacturers by recommending process changes that can reduce energy consumption and pollution. In industries such as chemical processing and semiconductor fabrication, for example, energy costs and water quality affect capabilities. By connecting manufacturers to new technologies as well as programs and providers of clean and sustainable energy, FuzeHub supports these and other industries.
Technical Training and Top-Notch Talent
Training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is important, but manufacturers also need employees who are team players and problem solvers. “Executives”, the Manufacturing for Growth study reported, “consistently said that their ability to drive innovation is directly linked to their ability to access highly educated workers” who apply “creativity and imagination” to challenges.
By connecting New York manufacturers to educational institutions that graduate top engineering and technical talent, FuzeHub supports innovation and new business development. At the same time, FuzeHub is also informing workforce development and regional employment by discovering what New York manufacturers need from potential hires in terms of certifications and capabilities.
Technology Commercialization for Advanced Manufacturing
For its final recommendation, the Manufacturing for Growth report described the importance of taking new technologies from research and development (R&D) to commercialization. By identifying available public and private resources and determining the best ways to leverage them, FuzeHub is helping small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) bring products to market.
As a Policy Academy Report from the National Governors Association (NGA) explains, “New York has focused a good deal of attention on better connecting SMEs to the technology resources that already exist on the state level.” For FuzeHub, events such as the Solutions Forums, co-sponsored by the state’s 10 Regional Technology Development Centers (RTDC), are just one way to build connections.
National Leadership from New York
Earlier this year, the Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) sponsored the first annual CATS/CEG Advanced Manufacturing Conference. The Capital Region Solutions Fair was held during this two-day event, where ThermoAura Inc., a Troy-based nanotechnology startup, sought engineering assistance.
Through FuzeHub, ThermoAura was connected to key engineering expertise in the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center (HVTDC); one of New York’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers. Today, ThermoAura Inc. has completed Phase 1 of a multi-phase plan to grow from university laboratory to full-scale production of tiny crystals that generate electricity from heat.
To support New York State manufacturers who need access to clean and sustainable energy, technical training and top talent, and commercialization for advanced manufacturing, FuzeHub maintains a Web-based portal. Learn more about FuzeHub’s services, or request an expert consultation.